[Purpose] This study investigated shoulder stiffness in university students and compared three different treatment procedures for shoulder stiffness.
[Method] The questionnaire (7 items) was distributed to 30 university students with a 3-month history of shoulder stiffness treated by three different treatments procedures. There were no abnormal findings on neuro logical examination.
[Result] The questionnaire response rate was 64.6%. The overall prevalence of shoulder stiffness was 61.9%, most patients had asthenopia and headache along with shoulder stiffness. However, immediately after the tender point and sham treatment periods, there were no remarkable clinical effect on shoulder stiffness, whereas after trigger point treatment, there were remarkable clinical effects on shoulder stiffness, as evaluated by the visual analogue scale.
[Conclusion] These results suggest that trigger point acupuncture treatment may be more effective for shoul- der stiffness in university students than other acupuncture treatments